Dragon Our Love 'Til The End: Zog Strikes Back
by Thunder Magus
Summary: Spike and Sapphire have successfully rescued the ponies of Buckington from the Shadow Dragon empire, and things seem peaceful. However, a vengeful Zog launches a counterattack on the village, and an even more fearsome foe makes his presence known. Equestria will face a challenge like never before, and Spike and Sapphire's love will be put to the ultimate test.
1. Chapter 1

Sapphire the ice dragon smiled.

So, this was what it felt like to be a hero. Mayor Paula Tishian had made good on her promise to throw a festival in honor of the two dragons who'd risked their lives to save the ponies of Buckington from the clutches of the Shadow Dragons. Pride swelled in Sapphire's chest as she watched the scene. All this was in Spike's and her honor.

The weather was perfect for Buckington's first annual Dragon Day, a sunny and warm afternoon. The village square had been turned into a fairground of sorts, vendors and game stands circled around ponies laughing and celebrating. Some of them carried odd-looking pastries that the ponies called "funnel cake", though Sapphire couldn't figure out why; it didn't look much like cake and it certainly wasn't funnel-shaped. Some fillies and colts trotted about wearing dragon masks that one of the vendors was selling. Others carried dragon balloons attached to strings. For the children there was a train ride modeled to look like a dragon circling the fairgrounds. The front car was the head; every once in a while it blew smoke from its nostrils with a loud whistle.

Spike stood beside Sapphire, his claw clutched in hers as they enjoyed the wide-eyed admiration of a group of foals sitting in front of them.

"Dragons are cool!" yelled one colt.

"I wanna be a dragon when I grow up," said another.

"Can you really breathe fire?" a filly asked.

"My friend Sunset Breeze told me the blue one has ice powers," said another filly.

A chorus of "oohs" and "ahs" sounded as the children stood up and moved closer, all them begging the two dragons of honor to show off their abilities.

Spike and Sapphire looked at each other for a moment, then they wordlessly nodded as if knowing what the other was thinking. They turned their attention back to the children.

Sapphire held her palms apart and facing each other. Ice swirled in the space between her palms until it formed a ball of frost. She tossed the icy globe into the air and Spike blasted it with a breath of green flame. The ice turned to water that drizzled to the ground, leaving a rainbow shining in the short-lived mist.

All of the fillies and colts applauded, some stamping their hooves on the ground, others giving a standing ovation for the awesome display.

"That was so cool!" a colt yelled.

A voice rang across the village, shouting "all aboard!" At this, the children in front of Spike and Sapphire screamed in excitement, running for their turn to ride the dragon-shaped train that had been set up for the festival.

Sapphire's attention shifted at another voice that rang through the fairgrounds. "Come on up, don't be shy! All you gotta do is pop a balloon and win a prize! Three darts for two bits. Everypony's a winner, step on up!"

Smiling, Sapphire tugged on Spike's arm and pointed at the game booth. "That looks like fun! Let's give it a try!"

Before Spike could answer, he found himself pulled forward by Sapphire's momentum until she stopped in front of the game stand. Taped to the back wall of the wooden booth were rows of balloons in more colors than Rainbow Dash's mane. The premise was simple: throw a dart, pop a balloon and receive whatever grade of prize was marked on a piece of paper taped to the balloon. If you were incredibly lucky you'd pop the one balloon that contained the voucher for any prize of your choice.

 _Looks easy enough_ Spike thought as he and Sapphire scanned the various prizes hanging about the booth. _Then again, that's how these carnival games get you._ The prizes were mostly stuffed animals, the lowest grade among them no bigger than a pingpong ball, all the way up to the grand prizes: plushies the size of a filly. One of the medium prizes was a plush heart in a soft shade of purple, with another heart stitched in the middle of it between the words "I" and "you."

"You look like a winner!" the stallion running the game said, pointing at Spike. "Want to try for a prize for the lovely young lady next to you? All it's gonna cost you is two measly bits!"

"Okay," Spike said, pointing at his target, "I'm gonna go for that 'I love you' heart."

Sapphire giggled at that and hugged his arm. "Go for it."

Spike reached into the pouch tied to his waist and put two bits on the counter. The vendor exchanged the coins for three darts. Spike took one between his claws, closed an eye to aim and let the dart fly. It stuck with a thud in the cork board between two balloons.

"Oh, come on," Spike yelled. "I aimed straight at it!"

"Let me try," Sapphire said, picking up one of the darts. "Maybe I'll win the heart for you."

A forked tongue hung lopsided from Sapphire's lips as she took careful aim and threw. Her dart stuck just above Spike's, but missed the balloon.

"This is rigged!" Spike yelled, beginning to think he'd wasted his money.

"Me next!" came a little voice from the dragons' feet. They looked down to see that Sunset Breeze, a young filly and a friend of Sapphire's, had joined them.

Smiling, Sapphire looked at Spike. He nodded his approval.

"Okay!" Sapphire said. She picked up a dart and gave it to Sunset. "Give it your best shot!"

Sunset took the dart in her teeth, flicked her head and sent it flying. It struck the balloon right in the center with a loud "pop!"

"Great throw, Sunset!" Sapphire cheered.

The vendor removed the piece of paper taped to the knot of the balloon and read it. The smile that formed on his face signaled good news. "Well, looks like this is your lucky day! You just popped the grand prize balloon! Pick whatever prize you want, kiddo!"

"Nice going, Sunset!" Spike yelled. The plush heart beckoned for his attention. "Ok, I want that hea-"

A shrug from the game vendor cut Spike off in mid sentence. Spike followed the vendor's eyes, watching Sunset trot off carrying a teddy bear as big as she was, eyes closed and smiling.

"Hey, that was my money!" Spike yelled after her. "My prize!"

Sapphire giggled and gave Spike a kiss on the cheek. That brought his smile back. "Well, you tried. And look how happy Sunset is."

As Spike watched Sunset Breeze proudly showing off her prize to her parents, Dustin Wind and Autumn Gale, he felt a pleasant warmth in the pit of his stomach and couldn't fight the smile. After all, it was through their effort that her parents were back home. "She should be happy. She worked so hard to help us get her parents back."

"So," Sapphire said, "what should we do next?"

Spike turned around and scanned the area for something appropriate. A cotton candy booth stood in the center of the fairground. Of course, Sapphire hadn't had the opportunity to try a lot of Equestrian food, but loved the few things she'd had the chance to sample. Spike now had his mind set on treating her to another example of pony culinary ingenuity.

"Hey, Sapphire, you gotta see this." Spike tugged gently on her wrist.

"Okay, whatcha got?"

Spike led her to the cotton candy booth, where a mare was hoofing out paper cones filled with a puffy pink and blue substance. The mare inside the booth had a cutie mark depicting the same fluffy treat she was handing out.

"Hey, Spike, what is that stuff she's selling?" Sapphire watched the colt walk off and lick the puffy stuff. He looked very much like he was enjoying it. Sapphire' face suddenly brightened. "Is this what you wanted to show me?"

"Yeah! It's called cotton candy, and it's delicious. Want one?"

"Mm-hm!" Sapphire licked her lips. After eating pie at Spike's recommendation, she wasn't about to pass up anything else Spike said was good.

"Two cotton candy cones, please." Spike reached into the pouch tied around his waist and produced five bits, placing them on the counter. The mare smiled, scooped up the coins and gave Spike and Sapphire both a stick of the treat, which billowed several inches above their cones.

Sapphire gave the confection a big lick. Her eyes seemed to light up as this new sensation flooded her mouth. It had only felt fluffy for a second before it transformed into a sweet goo that flowed like a river through her taste buds. Sapphire wrapped a foreleg around Spike's neck and pulled his head close to hers.

"What is this magic?" she whispered.

"Um, it's just fluffed sugar."

"I've never had anything like it in my life! It's incredible!" Sapphire took another big bite and spun on her heels. "The super sweet flavor, the fluffy texture, the way it melts in your mouth! It's like two foods in one! To think I've been missing out on things like this my whole life!"

A couple more big licks removed the rest of the candy that stuck out above the cone. Once that was gone, Sapphire dug the remaining cotton candy from the inside of the cone with her claw and plopped it into her mouth. She licked her lips with a satisfied smile. "Now THAT was good!"

As Spike finished the rest of his treat, he noticed Sapphire's smile vanish as suddenly as it had appeared. Sapphire threw her empty cone into a waste basket, wrapped her arms around her torso and shivered, as if she were cold. But she was an ice dragon, and it was a warm day. It would take an extreme amount of cold to bother her. Something was wrong. Without a word as to why, Sapphire walked past the houses at the edge of the village, stopping a few yards out into the countryside where she sat down on a boulder.

Something was really wrong.

Spike threw his cone away and followed behind. He took a seat next to Sapphire and put his arm around her shoulder. She still had her arms wrapped around her torso. "Hey. You okay?"

"I-I don't know what happened." Sapphire shook her head, gaze turned to the ground. "I just got this really bad feeling all of a sudden."

Was it the cotton candy? Maybe a dragon's system wasn't meant to tolerate it. No, that couldn't be it. Spike'd been eating the stuff all his life, all the way back when Twilight was still a filly and an unpleasant trip to the dentist aside, it'd never bothered him. "Do you think it's something you ate?"

"No, it's hard to describe. It' like a sixth sense kind of thing. I feel like something terrible is about to happen."

Spike kissed her cheek and pulled Sapphire closer, hugging her tighter to comfort her. "Hey, come on. It's been a week already. If they were going to retaliate they would have done it by now."

"I hope you're right."

Sapphire put an arm around Spike and rested her head on his shoulder. They sat there for a while, both savoring the moment until a tremendous shadow darkened Spike's vision and pulled him back to reality.

"What was that?" Spike asked. His eyes followed the direction the shadow went, but whatever it was had already moved out of his sight.

Whether Sapphire was too distracted to give an answer or she just didn't hear him, Spike couldn't tell. What was certain was that her face was frozen with fear.

Spike followed Sapphire's gaze and realized what the shadow had belonged to. Five huge, pitch-black reptilian forms with batlike wings were descending right for Buckington!

Zog's Shadow Dragons.

"That can't be good." Spike gnashed his teeth in dread at whatever they intended to do.

A sigh exploded from Sapphire's snout as she scrambled to her feet and ran toward Buckington.

"Sapphire, no!" Spike ran after her. "It's too dangerous!"

The two dragons stopped at the edge of the village, stiff with fear as they watched the scene unfold.

One of the Shadow Dragons swooped low and crashed into one of the houses, which shattered under the force of its momentum. The structure hadn't slowed its speed in the slightest.

Another one drew its tail back and took aim at Lucky Charm's relic shop. Ponies screamed in terror and galloped out of the way as the walls of the building exploded outward, showering the equines with bits of broken wood. Most of Lucky's relics

A Shadow Dragon dropped from the sky and landed on the balloon game booth, completely smashing it under its massive weight just as the vendor dove to safety. The dragon turned to the booth beside it and reduced it to flying splinters with a swipe of its paw, sending the mare working the stand scurrying for cover.

The dragon train ride screeched to a halt when another Shadow Dragon landed in its path, glaring at the passengers with eyes like burning coals. The fillies and colts screamed and jumped from the ride as the dragon drew its claw back. A single swipe derailed the parts of the train that hadn't burst into splinters.

Ponies scattered in every direction, trying to get as far as possible from the Shadow Dragons; shrieking in panic as they dove for cover from flying debris. Spike ached to do something, but the hopelessness of the situation held him fast.

Not that Spike believed anything Sapphire or he could do would even begin to slow the Shadow Dragons down. The buildings were no more to the dragons than houses made of blocks would be to a foal; destroyed and scattered as easily as if they were toys. Thick clouds of dust, kicked up from the ground by the assault, blotted out the once bright afternoon sun.

Amongst the chaos, Spike watched a spear fly through the air, thrown by a pony clad in golden royal armor; one of the two guards Celestia had stationed in Buckington to keep watch for dragon attacks. The weapon struck the dragon on its side with pinpoint accuracy, but bounced harmlessly off of its scales. The great reptile resumed its rampage as if it not even aware it had been attacked. The guard growled in frustration. He might as well had flung the spear against solid rock!

Despite this, his partner took a breath of courage and galloped into throwing range. He summoned magic energy into his horn and hurled his spear with every ounce of his might. He'd found his target, but fared no better than his partner.

When there was at last nothing left in Buckington for the Shadow Dragons to destroy, they once again assumed their v-formation and disappeared across the horizon back to the Dragonlands.

The dust had begun to settle when all the ponies who had scattered for their lives congregated in the village square. It had been a place filled with laughter and celebration. Now a hushed pall hung over Buckington, nopony able to form words for what they saw. Not one building in the village had been spared. Splintered wood, mangled steel, ruined belongings and shattered glass littered the streets.

As he surveyed the carnage, Spike noticed that not a single pony had been harmed, although the foals and many of the mares wept in fear and despair. The village itself lie in ruin, leaving the several dozen residents now without a place to call home. But they were alive.

"I don't get it," Spike said. "They just wasted this village, but they didn't hurt any of the ponies."

"They weren't trying to," Sapphire said. "They were sending a message. Think about it. If the ponies were their targets, they would have just coated this place with their shadow breath and been done with it."

"Then why this?" Spike asked, spreading his arms wide to indicate the destruction.

"The Shadow Dragons are probably hoping these ponies will spread the message they've just sent: don't cross us, or you'll get the same."

"What are we gonna do now?" Sunset Breeze's voice asked. The little filly clutched her new teddy bear tightly for comfort.

A murmur of pony voices, all quiet and solemn, rose from that statement.

"Our homes," Dustin Wind muttered as he observed the destruction, "all gone in a instant."

"What about my store?" Lucky Charm asked. He pointed an old, wobbly hoof to the ruins of his shop. "My business, my livelihood! There was thousands of years worth of history in there!"

"It's all those two dragons' fault!" one elderly mare shouted, pointing an accusing hoof at Spike and Sapphire. "If they hadn't intervened, this wouldn't have happened!"

Autumn Gale noticed the hurt expressions on the dragons' faces and pushed the old mare's hoof down, brown eyes glaring crossly at her. "If they hadn't, we'd still be slaves in their fortress!"

The old mare prodded Autumn Gale in the chest. "Dragons all together are no good, and you know it, Autumn! It's because of those overgrown lizards that we're in this mess in the first place."

"Because of EVIL dragons!" Autumn swatted the old mare's hoof back down. She moved over to take a stand by the dragon couple. "Not dragons like Spike and Sapphire. They risked their lives for us!" Autumn looked down at Sunset Breeze, whose eyes were now glossy with tears. "And they looked after my little girl while we were locked up."

"My town." Paula Tishian's voice was warped with a quiver, for this ruin had once been the village she governed. "The pride and joy of my life. What are we going to do now?"

"I am truly sorry, you honor." one of the guards said. "There was nothing I could I have done to stop them."

"Nor I," said the other soldier. He gave his head a rueful shake. "I threw my spear with everything I had. What did Celestia expect us to do against monsters like those?

Spike clenched his claws, taking a few moments to swallow the anger flaring inside him. He wanted to confront Zog right now, to crush his throat. "Listen, everypony. Head for Canterlot. I'll let Princess Celestia know you're coming. I know she won't turn you away."

"You're not coming with us?" Autumn Gale asked.

"No. I've got business to take care of."

"What are you going to do?" Dustin Wind asked.

Spike fell silent, his gaze becoming lost in the direction of the Dragonlands.

"Spike?" Sunset asked. The little filly nudged him on the knee, looking up at him with concerned blue eyes.

"Don't worry about it. Just get to Canterlot. You'll be safe there."

"What's he gonna do, Miss Sapphire?" Sunset asked.

"I don't know." Sapphire shook her head solemnly. She'd never seen Spike quite like this.

Spike produced a scroll and a feather quill from the pouch tied to his waist. His wrist furiously scribbled a note on the parchment. Then he breathed a jet of green flame on the scroll, which transformed into a cluster of magic sparks that zipped off towards Canterlot.

The warm afternoon sun did nothing to stave the chill that hung over the ruins of Buckington as many of the ponies took one last look at their former home.

Paula Tishian stood before Spike and Sapphire, an apology in her eyes. "Please don't think this means I've lost my trust in you, or in the existence of good dragons."

"I know," Spike said quietly.

"When we get to Canterlot, I would like you to stop and visit. I still consider you the heroes of Buckington."

"Don't worry," Spike answered. "I won't forget about you. All of you."

Autumn Gale walked up to Spike next and with no warning embraced him in a hug. Dustin Wind did the same to Sapphire. "Take care of yourself," Autumn said.

Spike patted the auburn-haired pegasus on the back. "You, too."

The two ponies swapped places and Spike now found himself in the grip of Dustin Wind while Autumn hugged Sapphire. "I won't forget what you've done for us. Stay safe."

Lastly, Sunset Breeze, tears still in her eyes, dropped her teddy bear long enough to give each of the dragons a hug around the ankles.

With nothing left for them in this ruin, the herd of ponies gathered what belongings they could salvage and walked solemnly off for Canterlot. Once they'd all left, Spike turned and headed for the boarder between Equestria and the Dragonlands. Zog was going to pay for this.

"Spike!" Sapphire yelled after him. "Where are you going?"

Spike turned to face her. "I've had enough of this. I'm gonna put an end to it."

"Spike, calm down."

"I might be a dragon, but Equestria's always been my home, and I'm going to defend it."

"You promised Applejack you weren't going to fight them."

"If I remember right, my exact words were 'I promise I won't do anything stupid.'" Spike turned away again and felt Sapphire's grip around his arm. "Right now this doesn't seem like such a dumb idea."

"Spike, you're too angry. You're not-"

Spike yanked his arm free and kept moving. Sapphire grabbed him by the wrist, and he stopped.

"Look at me."

"What?" Spike snapped back around, his eyes flaring with rage.

"You're not thinking straight." She kept hold of his wrist and placed her other hand on his cheek. "Now, I've lost my parents. I don't have any family left. You're all I've got. I can't lose you, too." Sapphire cupped his cheeks with both her palms, caressing his face with her digits and gazing deep into his eyes for added effect. "Not you."

Those blue eyes had a way of making any situation seem better. Spike smiled in spite of himself and the anger in his eyes faded. His shoulders rose as he took a deep breath to compose himself, then they slumped with a beaten sigh. "Then what am I supposed to do? Zog's already taken over the Dragonlands, what's to stop him from conquering the rest of the world?"

"This was a direct attack. If Celestia didn't send her soldiers out last time, she will now. Let them handle it. That's what they're paid for."

"But the whole reason I stayed here was so I could help out in case of an attack."

"You have helped. By letting Celestia know what happened. After all we've been through, I think we both need time to clear our heads." Sapphire smiled at Spike. "And I know just were we can do that."

Princess Celestia sat on her throne, eyes closed in content as she sipped a mug of steaming mint tea. Things had been peaceful in the week since Spike and Sapphire had freed the ponies of Buckington from the Shadow Dragons. There'd been no reports from the detachments she'd sent to the borders, no sightings of dragons. She'd had her doubts when she opted to avoid going to war against the dragons, but now she was starting to feel she made the right choice.

A familiar green flame wafted into the room, transforming itself into a rolled up scroll of parchment. Celestia smiled. It was probably a letter from Twilight Sparkle or one of her friends.

"What is it?" Luna asked as Celestia's eyes scanned the letter, sipping her tea as she read.

Though she nearly choked on her tea, Celestia kept her face in its usual calm demeanor. A flame flickered in her eyes.

"What troubles you?" Luna asked, having picked up on her sister's subtle change of expression.

"Shadow dragons have destroyed Buckington." Celestia looked to Luna, reading her face and the question she dreaded to ask. "Nopony harmed, thankfully."

At that, Luna's face eased a bit. "Thank goodness."

Celestia turned her attention back to the letter. "The note says the ponies on their way here. Have our maids get the guest rooms cleaned and prepared; we're going to have refugees on our hooves."

"Yes, my sister."

"As soon as you're done with that, I want you to go to Griffonstone and request their aid. Then go to Minotaurappolis and see if the minotaurs will ally with us as well. We're going to need all the help we can get. Go now, We've no time to lose."

Luna nodded. "Of course". Luna stood on her rear legs and wrapped her fronts around Celestia's neck, hugging her tightly. "Stay safe, my sister."

Celestia returned her sister's embrace and rubbed her back with great affection, as if it were the last time she'd ever get to do so. "You as well."

After releasing Celestia, Luna took one last good look at her and galloped out of the throne room.

Celestia looked to the soldier standing guard on her left. "Spearhead."

Fittingly, the guard held a spear firmly in his hooves. "My princess?"

"Find general Warhorse and tell him Her Majesty requests his presence immediately."

Spearhead lowered his weapon and bowed. "By your orders, princess." The soldier trotted out of the throne room, wasting no time or words than necessary.

"What is going on, your majesty?" asked Claymore, the soldier to her right, who carried a large broadsword as his weapon of duty.

"Those Shadow Dragons have left me with no recourse. As of this moment, Equestria is at war."


	2. Chapter 2

Five enormous Shadow Dragons neared Zog's fortress, a jagged, rocky structure of ebony that jutted high above the walls surrounding it. As they cleared the courtyard, their forms contorted, growing sleeker and shorter until they were small enough to fly between the massive pillars lining the outer rim of the massive assembly hall one story below Zog's throne room on the top floor. This was one of the abilities they enjoyed about being Shadow Dragons; the ability to shapeshift into a smaller, bipedal form.

The assembly hall was a huge, nondescript chamber consisting only of the room itself and large stone columns arranged in a grid that held up the top floor of the fortress.

Thorn, the dragon on point, planted his feet on the ground, a look of satisfaction on his face as he pivoted to face his comrades. "Did you see the looks on those ponies' faces?"

"See them?" his brother Scorn asked. "I could practically taste their fear!"

"They ran like scalded dogs!" said one of the other dragons who had been part of the team that destroyed Buckington.

"Their screams were music to my ears," another dragon chipped in.

"Let's go inform Zog of our victory," the fifth dragon said. "He will be pleased."

Indeed, General Zog would be pleased. Thorn took comfort in that fact. Not like those poor fools who'd botched the mission to stop the ponies fleeing through the mine, which ended in the mine being destroyed. For the past week those dragons had been locked up in the dungeon underneath the fortress, and Thorn knew they'd be lucky if they ever saw daylight again. He'd never seen Zog so angry.

Thorn nodded his approval as the other dragons, aside from his brother, marched upstairs to deliver the news to their leader. Their mission was complete, and now Zog turned for the balcony overlooking the courtyard. As he did, his eyes nearly popped out of his head. A flight of very slender and shapely dragonesses were passing through the fort's airspace, their forms beautifully outlined in the evening sky. "Well, he-LLOH!"

"What is it?" Scorn asked. When Thorn stopped on the balcony and didn't give an answer, Scorn joined his brother and saw what had caught his attention. "Nice," he whispered. "Shake that tail for me, darling."

"Where is Emperor Zog?" a voice behind them asked.

Thorn barely noticed this, his eyes still glued to the flattering figures of the dragonesses. "I'm not sure. He's probably in his throne room."

"I didn't ask for a 'probably.'"

"Go look," Scorn added, throwing a wave behind his back at his distractor. "We're kinda busy, as you can see."

There was a tremendous roar of rage, and one of the stone columns behind Thorn and Scorn exploded in a burst of dust and flying bits of rock, sending the dragons instinctively diving to their bellies for cover. Thorn twisted onto his rear end to see what had caused such a display of power.

"What the?!" Thorn managed to whisper, feeling his blood turn to ice. The sight before them held Scorn's mouth fast.

"Next time it will be your heads," the colossal figure standing before them warned in its booming baritone. This huge dragon, if that was what it was, it certainly resembled a dragon, sent a chill up Thorn's spine the likes of which he'd never felt before.

This dragon, pitch-black as the rest of the Shadow Dragons, had two pairs of legs folded across its massive chest for a total of not four, but six limbs. Four wings stuck out from its back. Two wedge-shaped heads, with four pupilless ruby eyes glowing on each head, stared down at the two sentries.

"What is going on down here?!" a voice from above snarled. General Zog, the one-eyed commander of the Shadow Dragons, charged down the spiral staircase that led to his throne room. A mighty vertical scar ran through what was long ago his right eye. Cyhperus, his second in command, joined him close behind.

"Ah, general Zog," the two-headed dragon said, both mouths speaking in unison. "I've been expecting you."

Thorn swallowed a hard lump in his throat, thankful that Zog had taken the stranger's attention away from him and Scorn. Most Shadow Dragons in their bipedal form stood about six to six and a half feet tall. Zog was rare specimen, eight feet in his bipedal form. But the two-headed dragon towered even over Zog. Thorn guessed his height to be eleven feet, maybe even twelve. He would have hated to see this dragon's full-sized form.

Even the mighty General Zog shivered at the presence of this monster. "Who-who are you?"

"You may have heard of me. I am known as Veroth."

"Veroth?" Zog's single eye squinted in confusion. "The Shadow Dragonlord from the ancient Dragon Wars? That was one million years ago. How can you still be alive?"

"Alive?" Veroth echoed. "I don't recall being dead, just sent on a... rather long vacation. The Prophecy never did come true, after all."

Yes, Veroth recalled the ancient dragon prophecy: "When dragons fight dragons and darkness covers the land, hearts united shall illuminate the shadows and bring about light anew." During the terrible Dragon Wars, various dragon clans had banded together to put an end to the Shadow Dragons' reign of terror, led by none other than Veroth himself. Dragon scholars had believed this to be the beginning of the prophecy, but no light was brought about during that destructive conflict. When the other sniveling dragons realized they had no hope against Veroth, they formed a pact with an ancient tribe of alicorns. By combining their strength, they managed to seal Veroth away in the gates of Tartarus. For one million years he dwelled there until the seal had weakened enough for him to escape.

By now, most of the dragons about the fortress had congregated in the assembly hall to check on the commotion. All of them had their sights turned towards Zog, expecting their leader to do something about this mysterious newcomer. He would not relent in front of his subordinates, but this was one of the rare times Zog had truly been afraid.

Despite this, he took a defiant step closer to Veroth, pointing a claw at him. "This is my fortress! You don't just barge in here and give me orders!"

A massive clawed hand found its grip around Zog's neck. He felt his feet leave the ground and suddenly he was staring down at Veroth's two heads.

"No longer. It belongs to me now." Veroth tightened his grip around Zog's throat. "Unless you object?"

Zog thrashed in Veroth's grip, kicking at the giant heads in an attempt to escape. One kick landed squarely on the throat of the left neck, but neither head even flinched at this. Zog brought his feet down with all his weight, stomping at Veroth's eyes. If this hurt Veroth in the slightest, he didn't show it as he hoisted Zog even higher above his heads.

A gurgle escaped from Zog's throat and, in that moment, he realized he was beaten. "Fine!" he managed to croak. "It's yours!"

"Thought so," Veroth grumbled before unceremoniously dumping Zog to the floor.

The other dragons backed off at an aside glance from the two-headed dragon. Even though he had four arms, he'd only needed the use of one to make the strongest dragon in their army look like nothing.

Zog picked himself back to his feet, rubbing his throat."Why are you even here, Veroth?"

"I have come to correct the errors you worthless lot have made."

"What errors?"

Veroth folded his arms across his massive chest. "You saw fit to destroy a single pony village. What did you think this was going to accomplish?"

"We were sending a message," Zog replied. "Those ponies needed to be reminded the order of things."

"Imbecile," Veroth growled. "Your little pecking order means nothing. Do you realize that now Celestia has a legitimate excuse to declare war?"

Cypherus shrugged. "So what? They're just ponies."

Those eight eerie eyes now pierced through Cypherus, who took a step back on instinct. "Ah, of course. How silly of me to forget. They ARE just ponies, after all." Veroth bent down and picked up a shard of stone from the pillar he destroyed. "Let's pretend that this piece of stone is a pony." He flung it gently and it bounced off Thorn's scales. "Did that hurt?"

Thorn tiled his head in confusion. "No."

Zog picked up another one and flung it at Scorn. "How about that?"

"Mosquitoes have hit me harder!"

"How about THIS?!" With a deafening roar, Veroth drove his upper two arms through the ceiling, bringing it and the floor above crumbling down upon the other dragons.

All was silent for a moment as the last bits of stone and rock fell and the dust settled to the floor. Movement stirred from the mound of rubble as an ebony claw pushed broken stone from the top of the pile. Zog and Cypherus emerged, dusting themselves off while the rest of the Shadow Dragons crawled out from the wreckage.

"Ponies may not come close to us in strength, but they do outnumber us, and an alicorn COULD pose a threat. As Shadow Dragons, we must not forget that ponies possess powerful emotions." Veroth held his bottom claws apart, palms facing each other. A spherical image appeared in the space between his claws, showing ponies laughing, smiling and generally enjoying each others' company. "Theirs is a realm of cheer and friendship, which could mean trouble for us. As you know, positive energies like these weaken us."

The globular image between Veroth's claws turned to one of ponies crying, shivering with fear and fighting with one another. "However, if we were to turn Equestria into a land of darkness and despair, the energy we could feed off their emotions would be substantial."

"So, we're going to take over Equestria?" Scorn asked.

"Yes. We must make our move now, before Celestia has time to act. We leave for Canterlot immediately."

It was the nature of dragons to instinctively follow the strong. Thus, most of the Shadow Dragons had no complaint in crowding around Veroth, awaiting his command. Even Cypherus had now ditched Zog's side for the more powerful dragon. Only Thorn and Zog himself kept their distance from Veroth.

Veroth turned his back to Zog, adding, "You, Zog, stay here and continue your search for the item that the dragons of old hid here. When you find it, you are to report to me immediately."

"But we've only found one of the three keystones needed to unlock it, and since we haven't been able to find it by digging, I'll need my army. If you're taking them-"

"Oh, not all of your army," Veroth interrupted. "Don't you have a few stewing around in that little prison of yours?"

"The ones who failed to stop the ponies from escaping?" Zog sneered at the very mention of them. "They're worthless!"

"Very well." Veroth turned to Thorn, who shuddered under the two-headed dragon's gaze. "Since you are so proud of the attack you just led, you will stay here as well."

Scorn, having joined Veroth's side, glanced a silent apology back at his brother.

Thorn held a protesting claw out towards Scorn. "But my brother-"

A low growl from Veroth cut Thorn off in mid-sentence. He tightened his jaw, not wanting to provoke their new leader. Assessing that Thorn had no other complaints, Veroth shouted, "come!" He spread his four huge wings and flew out one of the makeshift windows of the gathering hall. The other dragons obeyed, following him out the window. Soon they disappeared over the dimming horizon.

"Well," Zog grumbled lowly over his shoulder to Thorn. "What are you waiting for? Go release those miserable failures from the dungeon."

"Sir!" Thorn stalled just long enough to give a salute, then retreated to the bowels of the fortress.

Zog glared out at the horizon with his one remaining eye. His once bustling fortress was all but deserted, the courtyard empty and the sentries that usually flew watch overhead gone as well, having followed the others to Canterlot. Zog gnashed his teeth, snarling and clenching his fists. Veroth had humiliated him and single-handedly taken his entire army aside from a few incompetent fools who couldn't even stop a bunch of ponies. Now, with only this handful of dragons left, they'd have to search for those keystones themselves.

This was not how he imagined his evening starting.


	3. Chapter 3

Spike found himself glad that Sapphire had cast a spell on him to protect him from cold.

Here, in the peaks of the Northern Mountains beyond the Crystal Kingdom, the fierce cold was omnipresent. Well past the timberline, no trees grew and few creatures dwelled, only those with a natural affinity for the cold. Frost trolls and snow yetis made their home here. The ice dragons, however, dominated this land of permanent winter.

"So this is where you're from, huh?" Spike scratched the back of his head, taking in the colorless scenery.

"Yes. I called this place home once. I haven't been here since the avalanche. I forgot how beautiful it is."

Spike bit his tongue and swallowed a snarky comment. A barren, frozen land of drifting snow where the predominant color was a white that stretched as far as the eye could see, was about the last kind of place he'd consider beautiful. But Sapphire was an ice dragon. A love of the cold was set deep in her genes and it wouldn't do to insult her homeland.

"What do you love most about this place?" Spike asked, trying to view this place from Sapphire's perspective.

"Aside from the bitter cold?" Sapphire seemed to soak in the scenery, as if searching it for an answer. "We're so high up from the rest of the world. It's so serene and isolated. I feel like the troubles of the world can't reach us up here."

A good point, Spike realized, one he hadn't considered until Sapphire mentioned it. It was isolated for good reason; few creatures could tolerate the brutal cold this high up, and thus it was largely untouched by the modern world. The downside was there wasn't much for entertainment, unless you loved to play in the snow.

Snow! The stuff was everywhere, and it made Spike think of the things he loved to do during the winter back home. Sapphire had her back to him, still absorbed in the scenery, which gave Spike the perfect opportunity for a surprise attack. He scooped up a clawful of snow, packed it into a ball and threw it at Sapphire. It burst into a white powder against her back.

"Oh!" Sapphire snapped around and let out a malicious chuckle. "You're pretty brave, challenging an ice dragon to a snowball fight!" She held out her arms, and snow began to lift from the ground, forming a dozen snowballs that circled her.

"Oops," Spike mumbled. His fins drooped in realization of the mistake: he didn't stand a chance.

The snowballs began to revolve around Sapphire, slowly at first and gradually picking up speed until they appeared as a white blur. "Watch carefully!" Sapphire said. "Which direction is the first strike going to come from?"

Sapphire flicked her right wrist. Spike, on instinct, leaned to his right, but the snowball shot from Sapphire's left side and hit Spike square in the chest.

"Ha! Tricked ya!" Sapphire teased. She flicked her left wrist this time, throwing a snowball from her right side. Again, Spike instinctively dodged in the same direction Sapphire threw her snowball, and it exploded against his torso.

"Got ya again!"

"You'll have to do better than that!" Spike taunted.

Sapphire flashed a playful smirk. "Ok, you asked for this!"

The rest of her snowballs flew towards Spike in rapid-fire fashion, pelting him on the face, against his chest, all the way down to his knees. All the while, Sapphire was forming more snowballs as backup ammunition.

Sensing defeat, Spike scrambled for cover from Sapphire's relentless assault behind a nearby boulder and dusted the snow from his body.

"Oh, come on!" he heard Sapphire yell. "Don't tell me you've had enough already!"

"I'm just getting started!" he yelled back as he scooped up and formed the biggest snowball he could handle. By the time he was done, it was the size of a basketball. Satisfied, he stood up from his cover. "Got a present for you!"

Spike took aim at Sapphire and threw the snowball he'd made. It stopped inches from her, held in place by the ice dragon's magic. She observed it for a few moments, pretending to be impressed. "That's cute. But you can have it back!"

At that, Sapphire hurled Spike's snowball back at him, and he ducked just in time for it to sail over his head. This was getting more and more unfair by the second! Spike dared a peek at Sapphire from the side of his boulder.

"All you have to do is say the word and your suffering will end!" Sapphire taunted.

"Never!"

"Ok, now I'm getting serious!"

Sapphire held her arms to the air, lifting a great mass of snow from the ground and swirling above her head like an icy hurricane. All that snow was being compressed into the center, forming a rapidly growing snowball. It grew to the size of a basketball. A few seconds later, it was as big as a hay cart, then a piano, next; a barn. Moments later, it was the size of a house!

"Give up yet?" Sapphire asked. She swung her hands downward, feigning to throw the huge object.

"Ok! You win!" Spike reeled backwards, stumbling over his own feet in his retreat and landing flat on his back. Smiling, Sapphire snapped her fingers and her enormous snowball exploded, filling the air with bits of snow that fell over the duo even as Sapphire propped herself over Spike's collapsed form. Sapphire smiled down on him and then planted a kiss right on his maw. He almost expected it to chill his lips, but felt nothing but warmth thanks to Sapphire's protection from the cold.

"Come on, goofball," she said. "My old home isn't far from here."

Sapphire led Spike a couple miles through a path in the mountain, which ended at the aptly named Frozen Spires, the jagged, ice-capped peaks of the Crystal Mountains. The home of the ice dragons where Sapphire once lived was a crescent-shaped network of caverns made of ice that glistened in the sunlight. Without the fierce cold to distract him, Spike took a moment to appreciate this place from the foot of the caves. Sapphire was right; it truly was beautiful here, and that beauty radiated in the sunlight that glimmered off the ice.

"Sapphire, is that you?" a deep, booming voice rang.

Sapphire smiled at the sound of the new voice. "Glacien!"

A humongous blue dragon, scales dulled with age, welcomed Sapphire with open arms. She ran to him and embraced the old dragon.

No, this dragon wasn't just old. He was ancient, probably much more so than Princess Celestia. Dark, aged circles surrounded his eyes and he made every movement with the slow, precise method of a weary being in his twilight years.

"It's so good to see you again, Sapphire. I missed you." Glacien released Sapphire and looked her over. "Look how you've grown!" Glacien looked down at Spike, smiling. It was then Spike noticed he'd lost many of his teeth in his old age. "Could you be the famous Spike?"

Spike gazed up at Glacien, mouth agape in awe. "How did you know my name?"

"When Sapphire returned home from Equestria ten years ago, she told all of us about you."

"And who are you?"

"This is Glacien," Sapphire explained. "He's the oldest living ice dragon."

"How old are you, exactly?" Spike asked.

"I gave up counting after my 100,000th birthday." The weary old dragon scratched his head. "Or was it my 110,000th?"

"Glacien's always been like a grandfather to me,"

Glacien laughed a laugh that seemed to make a millennium lift from his years. "Come now, Sapphire, when you say that it makes me feel old!"

 _Yeah, you're only a thousand centuries old_ Spike quipped to himself.

"Where have you been all these years?" the old dragon asked.

Sapphire hung her head and sighed. No doubt there were painful memories surfacing. "When the avalanche happened, my parents told me to run, just before our cave was crushed. So I ran, and I just never had the nerve to come back. I went to Equestria. I wanted to learn more about ponies, and I hoped I'd see Spike again someday."

Glacien shook his head ruefully and pulled Sapphire in close to comfort her. She clung to the old dragon, shivering. "A terrible tragedy. I am so sorry, Sapphire. If only there was something I could have done."

"There is nothing you could have done," Sapphire answered, her voice shaky. "It's not your fault."

Seeing Sapphire like this lit a pang of regret in the pit of Spike's stomach. He stepped closer and rubbed Sapphire's shoulder. "I wish I could have done something, too."

Sapphire let go of Glacien and wiped her eyes. "It's not your fault, either, Spike." Her gaze drifted to the .left, her eyes lost in something. "It's time I stopped running from it. I'm going back to our old cave."

"There is nothing left," Glacien said lowly. "It'll only trigger more sad memories. But if you truly wish to go, I cannot stop you."

"I'll be fine."

"As you wish." The old dragon stretched, yawned and spread his wings, cringing at a loud pop that Spike winced at as well, almost feeling it himself. "Curse it all, these old bones and joints of mine aren't what they used to be. I enjoy my daily walks, but at my age, they take their toll. I'll take my leave of you now, I must rest."

The old dragon lumbered off to a distant cave towards the right of the network of ice caverns. Wordlessly, Sapphire wandered off to the left. Spike followed close behind until they reached the left side of the Frozen Spires. Most of the leftmost caves had been crushed inward by massive chunks of ice and rock that littered the area, a grim reminder of the power of nature. Countless tons of matter spilled by the avalanche had come to rest at the foot of the caves.

Sapphire rubbed some of the debris with her claw, her eyes distant, lost in time. "Look at all this rubble," she mumbled. "This was the exact spot where our cave, our home was. My parents used all their power to stop the cave from collapsing, just long enough for me to escape. As soon as I did-" Sapphire dropped to her knees, clenched her eyes shut and sobbed. "Mom, dad, I'm so sorry!"

"Sapphire," Spike said. She didn't seem to hear him.

"It's all my fault!" Sapphire squeezed a claw shut, crunching snow in her fist. "All I did was run! I didn't even try to help you keep the cave from crushing you! If I hadn't been such a coward, you might still be alive! If it weren't for me, you might have had time to get out."

The cold protection spell kept Spike safe from the sub-zero temperatures of the Frozen Spires, but it did nothing to stave the chill that worked its way through his body, hearing Sapphire blame herself for what happened to her parents.

"It wasn't your fault, Sapphire."

"How would you know?" she sobbed. "You weren't there."

Spike knelt down beside her and put his arm around her shoulder. "They told you to run. You did the right thing."

"Did I?"

Spike wondered if she was asking him, or herself. Sapphire hugged him, buried her face in his shoulder and cried. She cried for a long time. Spike would let her cry on his shoulder as long as she needed. At last the sobbing stopped. She stood up, wiped her eyes and sniffed.

"I'm ok," she sighed. There was a brief hint of a smile in her eyes as she looked to the towering central spire of the Frozen Spires. "Spike, there's someone I'd like you to meet."

"Who is it?"

"Dragonlord Frost, ruler of the ice dragons. He's an old friend of my father's."

"Alright. Lead the way."

Sighing and sniffed one more time, Sapphire turned around and guided Spike up the icy slopes that led to Dragonlord Frost's cave.

It had been some time since Princess Luna had been to Griffonstone, not since she attended the welcoming ceremony of Queen Gale ten years ago. The Griffon Kingdom had existed without any official form of government for many years. It was through unanimous agreement that they needed a leader. They elected the oldest and wisest among them, a griffon named Gale, to be their new ruler. She accepted the position with pride and had done well in leading the griffons to restore their once great kingdom.

Gustwing, a young griffon who, through quick and precise decision making, a level-headed demeanor and the ability to command respect from her troops by giving respect in return, had swiftly rose through the ranks of the griffon army, all the way up to general. She was now considered the second most powerful griffon in the kingdom, only to Queen Gale herself.

Queen Gale had been busy with a political meeting, so Princess Luna reported directly to General Gustwing in her office at Eagleclaw Base, the main headquarters of the griffon army. It was a training base as well; Luna understood that at the sight of a griffon sergeant carpet-bombing the ears of the recruits. Luna stepped through the open door of the general's office, spotted Gustwing at her desk and dropped to a knee in respect.

"At ease, your highness," General Gustwing said. At that, Luna rose. Gustwing stood up, walked around the desk and offered a claw to Luna. "General Gustwing."

"Princess Luna," she replied as she accepted Gustwing's claw. The griffon clasped her hoof in a firm, confident shake. Her feathers were well-groomed and she wore an olive beret on her head. A vast array of medals were pinned to her uniform.

"It's an honor to meet you, Princess of the Night."

"Likewise," Luna replied.

"What can I do for you, your highness?"

"Equestria has been attacked by dragons. One of our villages was completely destroyed. Celestia and I intend to fight back. But Our might alone is not enough to contend with them. I have come on her orders to seek your aid."

Gustwing shook her head, giving barely any time to contemplate the matter. Though her expression didn't change, Luna thought she caught a brief glint of fear in the general's eyes at the mention of the great reptiles. "You and your sister are both out of your minds. We are not about to fight dragons."

"You disappoint me." Luna studied Gustwing closer, looked her over, knowing that the general wouldn't miss this subtle but powerful gesture. "I'd heard better of the mighty General Gustwing."

Gustwing held her neutral expression, but Luna noticed her chest swell with pride. "It is true, I've lead the griffon army to many victories, but you must understand that our enemies in those battles were not quite the caliber of what you intend to fight against. Changelings are one thing, but dragons are far, far out of our league."

"You'll be well rewarded," Luna replied, hoping this would appeal to Gustwing's more primitive instincts.

Again Gustwing shook her head. "If we provoke dragons, we won't be around long enough to make use of a reward."

Was there no appealing to this stern-faced general? She might as well had put up a stone wall between the two of them, Luna thought. "Our country has experienced a direct attack! Will you stand by and do nothing even as the Shadow Dragons could be plotting to attack your country next?"

"We'll cross that bridge if we come to it. Your ponies have experienced an awful tragedy, and you have our condolences. Under normal circumstances, I might even have agreed to ally with your forces. But dragons are no ordinary enemies. They're too powerful. I am terribly sorry, your highness, but I didn't get promoted to general by taking risks. In the interest of the Griffon Kingdom's safety, we will remain neutral."

Luna feigned a smile and locked eyes with General Gustwing. "What irony. I did not come here expecting to find a coward."

Aside from a slight tightening of her jawline, even that did not alter Gustwing's flat expression. The change was subtle, but it was there, and Luna had noticed it, and knew she'd succeeded in piercing through Gustwing's pride.

"There's a fine line between cowardice and prudence," Gustwing replied, her tone every so slightly more dangerous, unnoticeable to an untrained ear. Luna had heard it. The griffon snapped her talons, and two sergeants came rushing into the room. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm a very busy griffon. Sergeants, please remove Princess Luna from the facility."

The two sergeants approached Luna, who summoned a white glow into her eyes. They hesitated, knowing what Luna was, what she was capable of and they understood the warning: do not touch me. "I can remove myself, thank you very much. If you are as helpless as you say, then I hope for your sake, general, that the dragons do not decide to attack your country next."

A quick surge of darkness, and Princess Luna had vanished from the room. The sergeants allowed themselves a quick sigh of relief. They'd rather tangle with dragons than an alicorn.

"Your orders, general?" one of them asked.

"Return to your posts. I have work to do."

Both the sergeants saluted simultaneously. "Ma'am! Yes, ma'am!"

After the soldiers marched out of the office, Gustwing returned to her desk and pulled out a new document.


End file.
